Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado

Monday, November 5, 2018

Platforms:

PC

Publisher:

Light & Shadow Production

Developer:

Revolution Software

Genres:

Adventure / Action Adventure

Release Date:

December 28, 2000

Game Modes:

Singleplayer

You won’t find many quality games based on movies, and those based on animated shows are even fewer. On the face of it, Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado, appeared to be among the few with real potential. Created back in 2000 on the animated movie with the same name, the game is a lighthearted adventure that tangentially reminds one of swashbuckling pirates from another comedic game. It isn’t completely without merit, and surprise either since the creators behind it also worked on the Broken Sword games.

The story will feel familiar to those who have watched the animated show. It follows Miguel and Tulio and their adventures of saving El Dorado from the clutches of Cortez. Granted, they don’t want to do this selflessly, as the journey should reward them with plenty of riches. The game is played from pre-rendered backdrops similar to Grim Fandango or Escape from Monkey Island. Starting out in Spain, the duo have to find a ship to take them to their destination. Along the way they encounter pretty simple run-of-the-mill puzzles, probably to keep it mellow for the game’s target demographic. But the problems in El Dorado are always fun, and the solutions humorous.

El Dorado was first released for the console market, so it doesn’t make use of the mouse. For young computer users this means that some keyboard dexterity is required for character navigation. Mostly this navigation is at an annoyingly slow pace, save for the finale where some speed is required. There are also 9 or 10 keystrokes to memorize including the arrow keys for navigation and others for inventory access, for running and crouching and for interacting with the game world. Very usefully, objects that can be interacted with flash brightly. It’s still not an optimal replacement for a point and click interface, but it works.